The Palace

The old, old palace is really the heart of the property. This is where you hang out all day, where you eat in one of the five dining rooms and where you sip tea in the one of the six parlors. This where jazz blasts through the loudspeakers and where some of our greatest art is hanging. It's the place to be.

Below you will find a detailed list and images of all the dining rooms and parlors at the palace.

The palace was built in 1657, and has had many eccentric owners since. Each owner influenced the property to meet their fancy, usually by investing large sums in outlandish and avant-garde projects. Like for example building Sweden's very first olympic sized outdoor pool, constructing a water slide from the upper floor into the pool, or digging an underground tunnel between buildings to avoid the perils of a rainy day. On the upper floor of the palace, you'll discover a gothic room made out of wooden panels that were smuggled to Sweden from Mary, The Queen of Scots' castle in Scotland. There's also a dungeon where the delinquent were punished in the basement, a golden bathroom upstairs, an ancient and superbly functioning mechanical bowling alley, and a state of the art kitchen that prepares the most delightful Slow Food.

Axel's Bedroom

These days, Axel Wenner-Gren's bedroom is a super cozy lounge, filled with lots of books and magazines. There's Axel's old desk where you can sit and work, and a TV for those important entertainment needs - like sports games or kid's movies.

Like most wealthy families at the time Axel and Marguerite had separate bedrooms. Margurite’s was warmly decorated in different shades of pink. Axel’s on the other hand was very austere and cold. He called himself The Last Viking and preferred a manly clean and raw look. His private bathroom outside the room is decorated just like that with stonewalls with reliefs, carved wooden panels and a great glass relief depicting a Viking battle.

Rumor has it he in particular enjoyed having a private stair leading directly to the maid’s room.

Library

There's hardly a better way to start the day than in a library - we think. So breakfast is prepared right there ever morning, and in the evenings it transforms into a most sophisticated dining room. And if you look up at the ceiling, you'll make an extraordinary artistic discovery...

Sweden was a great power between 1611 and 1718. In 1700 the Nordic War started, it lasted for 21 years and lead to the end of the great power era. During this time the Russians roamed the Swedish east coast and pillaged and destroyed everything that came in their way. Some of the art and artefacts were saved from the Russians as they were taken down and buried or hidden further inland. This was the case with this ceiling, it was taken down from Årsta Church and was hidden for over 200 years until the day when Axel Wenner-Gren bought it on auction and installed it here.

Blue Dining Room

This room is named after the blue pattern on its pretty tile oven. We like to think that it is a genuine Marieberg oven, but to be honest, it is actually a replica from the 17th century.

This room got its name from the blue pattern on the tile oven. It is not a genuine Marieberg tile oven; but a quite poorly made copy from the 16th century.

This is the room where the maids lived. All the staff who worked for the Wenner-Gren’s had a very beneficial contract; they had full wages, food and lodging all year even though the Wenner-Gren’s only stayed at the palace during the summer months.

Information

Decorative tile overn

Yes

WiFi

Of course

View

Palace park

Seats

30

Size

27 sqm

Floor

Hardwood

Photo Art

Laurent Baheux

Lion in the Twilight

Ruud Peters

Sweat Dreams

Leo Caillard

Diorama 2

Entrance

The entrance to a palace must be quite fabulous and a tad ostentatious. It probably comes with the name. Our palace doors are flanked by two Russian canons from the end of the 16th century. Inside, you'll be greeted by wartime requisites like trumpets and swords, but also cunning photo art and hunting trophies.

On the weekend, you check in by the palace entrance, whereas on weekdays you do so at Ljungberg's House down the road. Just to jazz things up a bit.

Field Marshal Count Gustav Horn built this palace in 1657. He was a warlord in King Gustav II Adolf’s army. Horn received this property in 1628 as a token of the king’s appreciation for his efforts in the war. It was then a wooden palace in very bad shape. The stone palace that replaced the old one was finished in 1657, the same years as Horn died. The trumpet is a souvenir from the battle of Lützen in 1632; it was also used in the 30 year war by the king Gustav II Adolf himself.

The sword is believed to be the one Viking Sote used in his battle with Olav Haraldsson in 1006. The two canons by the entrance are Russian from the end of the 15th century. The floor, the star vaults and the vaults in the stairs are original.

Most of the hunting trophies are from the Wenner-Gren era, but Olle Hartwig shot the only golden deer ever spotted on the peninsula.

Attributes

Shining armour

From 1800

Hunting trophies

98

War trumpet

Gustav II Adolf's

Bust

Axel Wenner-Gren

WiFi

Of course

Rib vault

Yes

Floor

Stone

Photo Art

Slim Aarons

Poolside Gossip

Slim Aarons

Penthouse Pool

Martin Richardson

Marylin Monroe

Skye Parrott

Erik & Julie

Fabrice Malzieu

Nipokino 1 & 2

Pia Ulin

Under Ytan

John Baldessari

Three pieces

Laurent Baheux

Lion sur son rocher

Laurent Baheux

Lion in Compliance

Jacob Felländer

Big Sur

Jonathan Lewis

Lemon Sherbet

Larry Sultan

Canal

David Gamble

Andy Warhol's home

Dungeon

This dungeon was used to punish crooks and thieves who were caught red-handed. They were temporarily chained to the walls of the dungeon, until they were transported to a proper prison. Back in the day, that could take a looong time.

Due to its location right next to the wine cellar, the dungeon was also a good spot to put roisterers for the night. These days, they get to sober up in a hotel room instead.

Attributes

Size

3 sqm

Seats

6

Berths

2

Furniture

No

Toilet

Pail

Walls

Plaster

Floor

Stone

View

None

Daylight

None

Ghosts

Presumably

Room Service

Definitely not

AC/ heating

No

WiFi

No

Golden Dining Room

This private dining room is on the ground floor, amongst all the other dining rooms, yet it feels very secluded. It's a favorite for small get-togethers and family dinners.

In this room there are two ghosts. They used to be awfully noisy and cause trouble for both our guest and our staff. In order to solve this issue we consulted a medium. She said that if we put up a portrait of someone we respected, a mirror on the wall and a crystal ball in the window that would appease the ghosts and calm them down. So ever since Marguerite has been watching over them they have been behaving perfectly.

Attributes

Portrait

Marguerite

WiFi

Of course

View

Pool, palace park

Seats

14

Size

19 sqm

Floor

Hardwood

Ghosts

3

Photo Art

Jacob Felländer

Big Sur

Chinese Parlor

The Chinese Parlor is filled with whimsical armchairs and little tables, to play games, have Afternoon Tea or to work a bit. The wallpaper is especially eye-catching and has been used as a backdrop for many photo shoots over the years.

Attributes

Open fireplace

Yes

Lions

2 gold, 2 blue

Portrait

Marguerite

Crystal chandelier

1

WiFi

Of course

View

Pool

Seats

approx. 25

Size

56 sqm

Floor

Hardwood

Photo Art

Jonas Fredwall Karlsson

Monica Zetterlund

Erik Broms

Zlatan II

Marguerite's bathroom

Almost as fresh as ever, the golden bathroom shines in its old glory. The bathtub, toilet and faucets are still the very same as in the 30's, when Marguerite Wenner-Gren and her friends would get ready for lavish cocktail parties in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirrors.

The ceiling is covered with leaf gold and a painting by the artist couple Lodén. Axel commissioned this ceiling painting for Marguerite as a reminder of their wedding trip in 1930, a safari in India.

The faucets used to be real gold too but Marguerite’s trustee, Birger Strid, sold them after Axel’s death. Birger Strid was later sentenced to eight years in prison for embezzlement as he had emptied the palace of all its furniture, art and valuables. Long time after he returned to the palace with a bust of Axel that he wanted to return to its real home.

Torsten Kreuger built the swimming pool in the 1930’s according to the Olympic standards, 25 x 50 m, of those times. It was the first outdoor swimming pool in Sweden. From this bathroom window he put a slide straight in to the pool. Marguerite unfortunately did not find the slide appropriate for a palace and had it removed.

Attributes

Ceiling mural by

Lodén

Basins

2

View

Pool

Floor

Marble

Marguerite's Dressing room

Marguerite's dressing room is connected to her bedroom. All the kids who visit the palace end up in her dressing room at one point or another, as it's full of dress-up clothes, games and coloring kits. It's the perfect getaway from those tedious adult dinner conversations.

Marguerite owned a fortune in jewellery, and the staff that worked for her testifies that they would always hear her come because of the rattle and jingle jangle from her jewellery. At night it was always locked away in the hidden safe next to the window.

The room is decorated with a hand painted border by her good friends Dagmar and Olle Lodén. It depicts the history of fashion worn by icons from each era, from Cleopatra to Josephine Baker. Napoleon and his wife Josephine, Elisabeth I, Gustav V, Marlene Dietrich, Karl Gerhard, Hjalmar Branting, Bertil Malmberg, Greta Garbo, Zarah Leander, Paul von Hinderburg, Charles Lindbergh, Harriet Bosse, August Strindberg, mrs Wenner-Gren herself and a lot of other celebrities are depicted on the board. How many faces do you recognize?

Attributes

Child friendly

Absolutely

Princess dresses

6

Slide

Yes

Maple cabinet

Yes

Mural

History of fashion

View

Sea

WiFi

Of course

Size

9 sqm

Floor

Hardwood

Marguerite's Bedroom

Margurite Wenner-Gren's room is now a hub for Afternoon Tea and champagne sippers, as all the bedroom furniture has been replace with sofas and armchairs. If you wish to have breakfast in bed, like Marguerite used to do every day, we will absolutely arrange that - in your room.

Marguerite was very superstitious and she always slept with 40 pairs of slippers arranged around her bed. If the were still in order when she woke up it meant that no ghosts or spirits had visited her during the night.

Attributes

Bed canopy

Marguerite's old one

WiFi

Of course

View

Sea

Seats

approx. 15

Size

45 sqm

Floor

Hardwood

Photo Art

Jacob Felländer

Big Sur

Frank Majore

Floral prints

John Baldessari

Cristian Coigny

Richard Misrach

View From my Porch

Victor Schrager

Untitled

Simon Larsson

Örnjägare 1

0

Örnjägare 2

Kicki Andersson

Livet

Marieberg Room

Also know as the billiard room, since the billiard table is the center piece and takes up a fair amount of space.

This room is named after the 16th century tile oven from Marieberg. The motive on the oven is called Nordstiernan, Northern Star. Tile ovens from Marieberg were different from other ordinary tile ovens from the 1600th century as they were painted in bright colors on white tiles and had a very shiny glaze. Count Liljencrantz who built Sturehof palace owned the Marieberg porcelain factory and he order the tile ovens for his new home. 20 of the 30 original ovens that are preserved are still at Sturehof and one is in this room.

Attributes

Tile oven

Yes

Billiard table

Yes

View

Pool

Size

32 sqm

Floor

Hardwood

Photo Art

Albert Watson

Eva Röse

Jacob Felländer

Eva Dansar

Lower Gothic Room

Just like the its upstairs equivalent, the Lower Gothic Room is adorned with wooden panels from the Queen of Scots' castle in Scotland. This is definietly one of the coolest dining rooms at the palace.

This room is also adorned with the Scotish gothic panel that the Wenner-Gren smuggled into Sweden on their luxury yacht, The Southern Cross. This is the room where Marguerite Wenner-Gren served her guest’s cocktails before dinner. Her signature cocktail was the Southern Cross with grape fruit juice and gin, and it was the only cocktail that she ever served before dinner at the Palace. The bottles were stored in the hidden storage behind the wooden panel on each side of the door. On the board of the panel Marguerite’s collection of mortar was displayed.

Attributes

Maple cupboards

Two

Wall panel

Smuggled from Scotland

WiFi

Of course

Seats

approx. 15

Size

24 sqm

View

Palace park

Floor

Hardwood

Photo Art

Kourtney Roy

Red Room

Stone Parlor

The Stone Parlor is definitely the most extravagant place in the palace. This is where cocktails are mixed and champagne flows freely. It's where you have Afternoon Tea in front of the fireplace and hang out after dinner.

The largest hall in the palace is named Stensalen, the Stone Parlour. It has got its name from the beautiful lime stone floor from the Swedish island Öland. When the palace was built they put the stone on a layer of sand to make it smooth and even, but after 350 years the sand is not so even any more... Redoing the floor is out of the question though as the sand and stone weighs over 2000 kg, shifting all this weight could potentially destabilize the entire palace.

The portrait of Lord Oliver Cromwell above the fireplace has an interesting story. It was sold by the trustee Birger Strid following the death of Axel Wenner-Gren and thought to be gone forever. The Hartwig family, who lived in the palace in the 70’s, were dedicated to finding and retrieving as many of the lost antiques as they could. One evening the Hartwig family was watching The Persuaders, with roger Moore and Tony Curtis, on TV and saw the portrait in one of the scenes. They immediately called the BBC who sold it back to Häringe Palace.

By the windows is a painting of Gustav Horn who built this palace in 1657. Next to Horn is King Gustav II Adolf, the woman is unknown. The scene is probably taking place in Germany since it was only there the two gentlemen ever met. There is an historical error in the painting that reveals that it is not from the 15th century; kings did not wear the blue ribbon until the age of King Gustav III, i.e. by the end of the 16th century.

Above the doors are motives painted by Flemish artists in the 16th century.

Attributes

Cocktail bar

Yes

Open fireplace

Yes

Stucco

from 1700

Piano

Yes

Crystal Chandelier

3

WiFi

Of course

View

Palace entré

Seats

60

Size

117 sqm

Floor

Limestone from Öland

Photo Art

Jacob Felländer

Chennai

Richard Heeps

Lynn Luisa Charlotte

Eileen

Sebastiaan Bremer

Untitled

Martina Hoogland Ivanow

California

Michael Jansson

Woman in Gasmask

Great Dining Hall

Over the centuries, the grandiose main dining room has been the setting of all sorts of gatherings. Some very decadent ones too, if we may add.

The magnificent dining hall cabinet is designed by architect Ragnar Östberg; the man who designed Stockholm City hall. Torsten Kreuger placed the order and six German carpenters built it in this room in 1929, and while they were here they also painted the ceiling beams with gold. On the doors previous owners are portrayed: Gustav Vasa, Viking Sote, Gustav Horn and Kreuger himself among others. The grid is decorated with animals that were found on the property, though we doubt there have ever been any bears on the peninsula. The cabinet was used for displaying precious Meissen and Dresden china.

On one of the sides you will find Sweden’s first refrigerator where Kreuger stored night snacks and beer. The cabinet weighs over 1000 kg and cannot be taken out of the room. It was the only piece of furniture left in the palace when Olle Hartwig bought the palace on an executive auction in 1974 for 1.7 million SEK.

Attributes

Golden mirrors

10

Crystal lamps

3

Cupboard dated

1929

WiFi

Of course

View

Palace entré

Seats

80

Size

78 sqm

Floor

Hardwood

Photo Art

Jacob Felländer

Arrival

Wine Cellar

Down the stairs, passed the dungeon and to your right, lies the wine cellar. Furnished with a beautiful long table, it's a place you want to take your friends, lovers and colleagues to taste wine and eat lots of cheese. Our sommelier will be there to assist you, of course.

Palaces and good wines have a long and inseparable history, and thepeople who live in palaces are known to dutifully enjoy the good wines on hand. Even if Axel Wenner-Gren himself wasn’t much of a drinker (unlike his wife, Axel preferred mineral water), he always offered an abundance of cocktails and wine at all of the Wenner-Gren homes.

An impressive collection of wine was included in the deal when the Wenner-Grens took over Häringe Palace from Torsten Kreuger (who was imprisoned and forced to accept a veritably disgraceful bid). The wine cellar here was informally called “Gyllene Freden,” due to the fact that the total value of all the wines in here at the time would have been enough to purchase the distinguished restaurant located in the Old Town of Stockholm.

Torsten Kreuger later stated that he could forgive his friends the Wenner-Grens for buying Häringe – including all furnishings – for a paltry sum, but he could never forget that Axel and Marguerite gave Torsten’s old parents only six days to move out. You could say that eventually the tides were turned when Birger Strid – the trustee who emptied the palace of everything of value after Axel Wenner-Gren’s death – didn’t stop at selling the remaining wares, but even sold off the wine cellar shelves.

Attributes

Wine bottles

500

Humidor

Yes

Size

28 sqm

Floor

Stone

Upper Gothic Room

This used to be Axel Wenner-Gren's study. He had quite a fetish for elephants and possesed his very own customized elephant stationary. There were two versions: one with elephants with upward pointing trunks and one version with downward pointing trunks. The former was used for good news and the latter for less joyful occasions...

The Upper Gothic room is decorated with a 1500th century gothic solid oak panel. It comes from the monastery in the royal palace Linlithgow in Scotland, the palace where Mary, Queen of Scots was born in 1542. In the panel there are several hidden doors. The Gargoyles in the ceiling are supposed to protect you from evil. The relief faces on the panel belongs to the monks in the monastery. One of them came with the panel and now resides at Häringe Palace. He sits in the chair in the corner to the left of the entrance. He is one of our friendliest ghosts but he can sometimes get a little grumpy if you stumble over his feet or sit on him.

Attributes

Sofa

Svenskt Tenn

Wooden panel

Smuggled from Scotland

Ghosts

A nice monk

WiFi

Of course

View

Pool

Seats

approx. 15

Size

31 sqm

Floor

Wood

Upper Hallway

Max and Chantal, the loyal palace watch dogs, live in the upper hallway. They love being there because its the perfect spot to greet guests coming up the stairs, to muse by the fireplace and to observe the going-ons. By the way, Max and Chantal are bronze states from Paris, which flew in on a private jet.

One thing that makes Häringe Palace unique is that we know the names of all the previous owners all the way back to Viking Sote who lived here in the 900th century. There is even a love story from the 400’s that takes place at the Häringe peninsula that the Icelandic poet Orvar Odd wrote about.

Torsten Kreuger had this tapestry made. It is a map of the property with all the names and coat of arms of the previous owners. Kreuger was not part of the nobility and his family did not have a coat of arms so he simply created one. As he was an engineer and a constructor he chose a compass and some bricks as his symbols, there are also some freemason symbols in it.